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Few helicopter trips rival the one from Nice to Monaco.

The flight is only six minutes long but it allows travellers to indulge their inner-James Bond, especially when coming in to land above the super-yachts moored in Monte Carlo’s marina.

Monaco might no longer have the mystique it did in the 1960s and 1970s when Princess Grace and Prince Rainier III held sway, but it still sparkles with glamour. In the debates over how various tax havens and off-shore centres will fare now that global governments have turned their attention to “black money”, this glamour is Monte Carlo’s X-factor, the overlooked detail that is likely to ensure its survival.

It will ensure that the Principality remains the playground of choice for the rich and famous during the annual Formula One Grand Prix, the Monaco yacht show, or, for that matter, most other times of the year. The host of other small offshore financial centres and tax havens dotted around Europe are sadly lacking in similar levels of glitz. Stuck out in the inhospitable Bay of Biscay and the cold Irish Sea, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man can’t compete with Monaco on the glamour stakes. Liechtenstein’s Schloss Vaduz overlooking the capital has a romantic appeal, but there are few other reasons to visit the tax haven apart from depositing money in to its private banks.

Tax haven Andorra, sandwiched between France and Spain, is a good place to ski if you’re a beginner, but its banks are probably its only other draw. Gibraltar’s rock is impressive, but, again, many might say there is little other reason to visit.

The rich visit Monaco for a variety of reasons and not merely to check their offshore bank accounts.

All tax havens are having to work harder then ever to justify there existence as governments around the world, desperate to plug big budget deficits are demanding transparency from banking operations.

To get on the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development “white list” - the list of approved tax havens – offshore financial centres are rapidly signing up to tax information exchange agreements (TIEAs). Monaco is no exception, recently graduating to the white list after signing numerous TIEAs.

But being a glamorous hangout for the rich, with a compliant but still resolutely offshore banking sector, is likely to be a good reason why the rich will keep their money in Monaco.

Europe’s other small tax havens might find having just offshore bank accounts isn’t enough to hold the money of the rich in the future. They might be looking to supplement their income in the future – or increase their glamour quota.

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